The European Individual Championship is a gigantic brawl, and since it began in 2000 the winner has always been a seasoned grandmaster. This year’s event in Katowice, Poland, drew 500 competitors, including 90 grandmasters. Lasting 11 rounds, it is not the kind of event you can win ‘by chance’. So it was astonishing to see 17-year-old Roman Dehtiarov from Ukraine win the gold medal. Though he became Ukrainian champion in 2024, his opportunities to travel abroad have been limited since the start of the war. In Katowice he began the event seeded just 126th, and not yet a grandmaster. He finished clear first on 9/11, thanks to a string of impressive attacking games, including the two shown below.
On his return home, the teenager from Kharkiv was photographed with Volodymyr Zelensky, and honoured with the ‘Future of Ukraine’ award.
Roman Dehtiarov-Alan Pichot
European Individual Championship, Katowice 2026
23…Nxa4 24 Rxa5 24 Rh5!? was a fascinating alternative. Then 24…Nxb2 25 Nxf6! Qxf6 26 Qb1 wins material, or 24…Bxe4 25 fxe4 Nxb2 26 Rxh7+ Kxh7 27 Qh5+ Kg8 28 e5 yields a dangerous attack. Nxb2 24…Qxa5 25 Nxf6 gxf6 26 Bb1 is promising for White, with ideas or Qd1-c2 or Qd1-e1-h4. 25 Qd2 Qxa5? Essential was 25…Bxe4 26 fxe4 Qxa5 27 Qxb2 with all to play for. 26 Nxf6! Much stronger than the obvious 26 Qxb2 Qxa2 27 Qc2! A powerful sting, since 27…gxf6 28 Qf5 wins on the spot. g6 28 Qf2 Qa5 Faced with threats like Qf2-h4-g5-h6#, there is nothing better. 29 Qxb2 Black is too weak on the dark squares to survive much longer. Rac8 30 Nd7 Rc3 31 Bd2 Rfc8 32 Bxc3 Rxc3 33 Ne2 Qa3 34 Qd2 Black resigns
Emre Can-Roman Dehtiarov
European Individual Championship, Katowice 2026
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6 6 Bg5 g6 7 Bxf6 exf6 8 Bb5 Bd7 9 O-O Bg7 10 Nde2 Be6 11 Nf4 O-O 12 Ncd5 f5 13 exf5 Bxf5 14 c3 Ne5 15 Ne3 Be4 16 Nfd5 Rc8 17 Qa4? (see diagram) Allowing a surprising shot 17…Nf3+ 18 Kh1 18 gxf3 Qg5+ 19 Ng2 Bxd5 looks dreadful for White. Qh4 19 h3 19 gxf3 Bxf3+ 20 Ng2 Bxg2+ 21 Kxg2 Qg5+ wins the knight on d5. Be5 There is no immediate knockout, but there is time to bring reinforcements. 20 Bd7 Rcd8 21 Rad1 f5 22 Bb5 Nh2 22…Ng5! was stronger, but it was hard to foresee that 23 f4 Nxh3 24 fxe5 f4!! leaves White defenceless, e.g. 25 Nf6+ Rxf6 26 exf6 fxe3 with mate to follow. 23 Kg1 Nf3+ 24 Kh1 Nh2 25 Kg1 Nxf1 26 Bxf1 g5 27 g3? Volunteering a new weakness. Instead 27 Bd3! liquidates an attacker, and the centralised knights offer hopes of salvation. Qh6 28 Ne7+ Kh8 29 Bg2 Bxg2 30 Kxg2 Qe6 31 N7d5 f4 32 Ng4 fxg3 33 fxg3 Qf5 34 Kh2 Qf3 White resigns
Comments